José Mourinho has made a prickly comeback to media duties by offering a familiar reminder that Arsène Wenger escaped sanction for appearing to push the Chelsea manager on the touchline earlier this season, and reaffirming his belief that clubs who flout Uefa’s financial fair play rules, implying Manchester City, should be docked points.
The Portuguese, who will attempt to win his first league game at Villa Park on Saturday at the sixth attempt, had risked a Premier League fine for choosing not to address the media either side of last Saturday’s draw with City, having been unhappy with the portrayal of Diego Costa’s challenge on Liverpool’s Emre Can in the Capital One Cup semi-final. That was adjudged a stamp by the Football Association, resulting in the striker receiving a three-match ban; on the day that Costa was charged, Mourinho was fined £25,000 by the FA for suggesting in December that there was a “clear campaign” against his side.
He returned reluctantly to Chelsea’s media theatre on Friday out of obligation, declaring he was not “super happy to be here”, and initially offering only curt responses to broadcasters. He declared the £23.3m signing of Juan Cuadrado to be “normal” and there was no desire to reflect upon last season’s fractious 1-0 loss at Villa, in which two of his players were dismissed and the manager was sent to the stands. Asked if he expected to be fined for swerving his duties last week, he said: “You know the only surprise I had in relation to that was not to be punished when I was pushed by another manager. Apart from that I can expect everything.”
Mourinho was more forthcoming when it came to Chelsea’s successes in the transfer market in recent times, the league leaders having emerged from the midwinter market with a profit of £7.2m – courtesy largely of the sales of André Schürrle and Ryan Bertrand – despite their successful pursuit of Cuadrado, one of the stellar performers at last summer’s World Cup finals. That was the third window in succession in which Chelsea have recorded a profit in player trading, contrasting markedly with the £28m spent by City on Wilfried Bony last month, and prompted a familiar refrain from Mourinho on the machinations of FFP.
“It’s something that was explained 18 months ago when I met our owner and the club board before I joined,” said Mourinho. “It was explained the profile of club Mr Abramovich wants, with total respect to the FFP rules. Our work to keep the team strong, with a possibility to compete against the ones financially more powerful or against the ones who don’t care and don’t respect FFP … we had to work very hard. In my area, I tried to do that. Analysing the players we can sell and those we can buy. But when it goes to numbers, it goes out of my control. I think total credit to the people who deserve credit in that area. I’m not the one.
“It’s a good challenge. The only thing that is not nice is that you compete against [clubs] who don’t follow the same rules. That’s the only problem. I don’t think a team can be champions when you are punished – and it’s happened before [implying City last season] – because the team didn’t comply with FFP.” Asked what sanction would be more appropriate than the fine imposed upon City by Uefa last summer, he added: “Points. Of course. I don’t know [how many].”
He travels to Villa Park without Costa, who is serving the second match of his three-game ban, and having taken a sarcastic swipe at Manuel Pellegrini for the Manchester City manager’s suggestion that the Spain forward must learn from his misdemeanour. “I appreciate the lesson that Mr Pellegrini wanted to give to one of my players, but I don’t want to do the same or give any kind of word about it,” said Mourinho, who merely shook his head when asked if Costa did, indeed, have to change his game to escape further controversy in future.
Loïc Rémy and Didier Drogba are competing for the striker’s berth, while Cesc Fàbregas will undergo a late fitness test to determine whether he can feature after hamstring trouble. Cuadrado will be in the squad but is expected to start the game on the bench. “I think he is ready to play, unless the Premier League or FA say some rule stops him,” added Mourinho. “He will have his time.
“It’s not a panic buy. It’s a reaction to Schürrle’s departure – he was a player we liked, but the business was very good – and he is a player we’ve known for a long, long time. We are happy with our business.”